Kelly said Tuesday she will host daytime talk show, weekend newsmagazine on NBC

Canadian Press

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017

NEW YORK — Megyn Kelly, the Fox News star who’s had a contentious relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, said Tuesday that she’s leaving the network for NBC News, where she will host a daytime talk show, a weekend newsmagazine and contribute to breaking news coverage.

NBC News made the announcement Tuesday, ending months of speculation over whether she would re-up with Fox, where she has flourished while suffering bruised feelings in recent months, or start a new chapter in her career. Her contract with Fox expires this summer. It was initially unclear when she would leave the Fox airwaves and appear on NBC.

Kelly’s departure deprives Fox News of its second-most-watched host, behind only Bill O’Reilly, and a hole at 9 p.m. in its prime-time lineup.

“While I will greatly miss my colleagues at Fox, I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge,” Kelly said in a message on Twitter on Tuesday.

Kelly became one of Fox’s hottest properties and a flashpoint in the presidential campaign after Trump objected to her questioning in the first Republican presidential debate a year and a half ago. He tweeted angry messages about her and boycotted another Fox debate after the network refused to replace her as one of the debate moderators.

She also became a central figure in the downfall of former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, telling in-house investigators of inappropriate conduct by Ailes that supported women who had made similar accusations.

Details about Kelly’s new jobs at NBC will be revealed in upcoming months, said Andrew Lack, chairman of the NBC Universal News Group.

“Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career,” Lack said. “She’s demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we’re lucky to have her.”

It will be interesting to see how well she does at NBC. I doubt if her Fox News audience will follow her. NBC and its affiliate MSNBC have low credibility. They former big news anchor, Brian Williams was Hllary-like in that he made up stories stressing his bravery, and he (falsely) reported seeing bodies floating in the water outside his hotel at the time of Katrina.

I'd say that MSNBC has a history of being worse than Democrats claim Fox to be, adept at hysterical news coverage. Think of Keith Olbermann and his ''worst person in the world'' feature. Or the rabid partisanship of Rachel Maddow.

She has obviously been uncomfortable at Fox since Trump appeared, and her questions to Trump were off-base, even if his response was as well. But she played her cards well enough to get a contract that pays her between $15 and $20 million!

Megyn Kelly offered a heartfelt tribute to Fox News and her viewers in explaining her "tough decision" to leave the network for NBC.

At the close of Tuesday's "Kelly File," Kelly said she felt a "human connection" to her viewers and also treasures that "particularly when it comes to my children, who are 7, 5 and 3," signaling that her nighttime schedule was a key factor in her decision.

"I have grown up here and been given every chance a young reporter could ever ask for," she said, praising Rupert Murdoch's family for its kindness toward her. Her last show at Fox airs Friday.

Kelly's closing remarks came less than 12 hours after the surprise announcement that she will be giving up her prime-time role at Fox for a multi-year deal that includes several roles at NBC. She will launch a daytime program as well as a Sunday evening news magazine show, and be part of the network’s coverage of major political and breaking-news events.

Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox, said in a statement: “We thank Megyn Kelly for her 12 years of contributions to FOX News. We hope she enjoys tremendous success in her career and wish her and her family all the best.”

Kelly told viewers she deeply admires the journalists at NBC, but also said she is "very grateful" to Fox for her 12-year career at the news channel. She expressed similar sentiments in a Facebook posting, singling out not just Murdoch but his sons, Lachlan and James, who led the discussions to keep her.

The anchor made one wry reference to her critics, saying she even values those who "very rarely complain" about her on Twitter after a show or a presidential debate--an apparent reference to the Donald Trump supporters who turned on her during the campaign.

Fox News fought hard to keep Kelly, who became a breakout star and whose 9 p.m. show was the second-highest rated in cable news, behind the “O’Reilly Factor.” Trump’s attacks on Kelly during the campaign helped turn her into an international celebrity and she was featured on the cover of the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair and other publications. She also just published a best-selling memoir, “Settle for More.”

Kelly’s contract at Fox was not due to expire for another six months.

Money did not appear to be the major factor in her decision; Kelly stood to make an eight-figure salary wherever she went. As she talked about her thinking, it became clear that a top priority was a schedule that would allow her to spend more time with her three young children rather than returning home after their bedtime.

Fox News now faces the challenge of replacing Kelly in prime time, as well as at such major events as debates and political conventions, where she has generally appeared alongside Bret Baier and Chris Wallace.

Kelly was an increasingly unhappy lawyer in 2004 when she parlayed a part-time gig at a Washington station into a reporting job at Fox. She quickly rose through the ranks, co-anchoring “America’s Newsroom” with Bill Hemmer and then hosting a 1 p.m. show before the move to prime time.

NBC Universal Chairman Andrew Lack said in a statement, “Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career” Lack said. “She’s demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we’re lucky to have her.”

The move gives Kelly access to the potentially larger audience of a major broadcast network. But launching a daytime program can be difficult, even for famous journalists.

Katie Couric, the former “Today” co-host and CBS anchor, lasted two years in an ABC-backed daytime show whose first executive producer was Jeff Zucker, now CNN’s president. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper also lasted two seasons in daytime. The largely female audience tends to favor entertainment and lighter fare over serious news topics. NBC did not announce a time for Kelly’s new show.

Trump’s sharp criticism of Kelly after the first presidential debate, when she asked him about his demeaning comments toward some women, brought her a torrent of online abuse and, she disclosed in her book, her family was forced to use security guards. The two buried the hatchet in an interview that aired on the Fox broadcast network

It will be interesting to see how well she does at NBC. I doubt if her Fox News audience will follow her. NBC and its affiliate MSNBC have low credibility. They former big news anchor, Brian Williams was Hllary-like in that he made up stories stressing his bravery, and he (falsely) reported seeing bodies floating in the water outside his hotel at the time of Katrina.

I'd say that MSNBC has a history of being worse than Democrats claim Fox to be, adept at hysterical news coverage. Think of Keith Olbermann and his ''worst person in the world'' feature. Or the rabid partisanship of Rachel Maddow.

She has obviously been uncomfortable at Fox since Trump appeared, and her questions to Trump were off-base, even if his response was as well. But she played her cards well enough to get a contract that pays her between $15 and $20 million!

I doubt much of her Fox audience will follow her either , NBC is pretty much the most liberal and if you like Fox news chances are you don't even watch NBC at all , I've rarely ever checked any of there websites when looking for news and never watch there tv channels , its just not a network I have any interest in following

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